The Art of Sewanee
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Spring 2007 SewaneepubliShed for alumni and friendS of the univerSity of the South The Art of Sewanee Treasures from the University collection In this issue Enduring Visions treasures from the university’s collections illustrate a departments tradition of cultural philanthropy. PAGE 12 Vice Chancellor’s Corner 4 Theologia 36 Viewpoints 5 Sports 38 A Wealth of Hope as nobel peace prize winners muhammad yunus, h’98, On the Mountain 7 Alumni News 40 and the grameen bank offer life-changing opportunities forb angladeshis, Student Life 26 Class Notes 41 Sewanee students and alumni marvel and are changed, as well. PAGE 18 History 28 In Memoriam 58 Faculty 30, 35 Afterword 62 Sewanee Pays it Forward rebuilding the library of Cuttington university The Sewanee Call 31 in liberia. PAGE 22 On the cover: Two of Sewanee’s art treasures: a silver ewer by Tiffany and Company, designed by Edward Chandler Moore, ca. 1860-1870; and a print by John James Audobon, ca. 1829, Male Winter Hawk with Bullfrog. On this page: Stirling’s Coffee House is a popular location on warm spring days. Photo by Woodrow Blettel. Editor Laura Barlament Magazine Advisory Council Send address changes to: where preference is given to individuals of the Associate Editors Susan Blettel, Pamela Byerly Alumni Members: Julian Bibb, C’97; Jack Hitt, Office of University Relations Episcopal faith and except for those employment Graphic Designer Susan Blettel C’79; Paige Parvin, C’93; Rondal K. Richardson, 735 University Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383-1000 positions where religious affiliation is a necessary Class Notes Editors Mary Blount, C’80; Catherine C’91, Associated Alumni Vice President for Phone: 800.367.1179 qualification). The University of the South Ann Whelchel, C’10 Communications; John Sullivan, C’97; Jennie E-mail: [email protected] complies with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title IX Photographers Woodrow Blettel, Bethany Goodrum Turrell, C’93 of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Davis, C’07, Daniel Fort, C’80, Jamey I.R.S. Anti-Bias Regulation, Section 504 of the Lowdermilk, C’04, Christie Caldwell, C’99, Faculty/Staff Members: Virginia Ottley Craighill, The University of the South does not discriminate Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans Mary O’Neill, Charley Watkins C’82, Visiting Assistant Professor of English; Jett M. in employment, the admission of students, or with Disabilities Act. The Provost of the University Fisher, C’79, Executive Director of the Associated Sewanee is published quarterly by the University Alumni; Karen Kuers, Associate Professor of in the administration of any of its educational of the South, Ms. Linda Bright Lankewicz, 735 of the South, including the College of Arts and Forestry and Geology; Christopher McDonough, policies, programs, or activities on the basis of University Avenue, Sewanee TN, 37383-1000, Sciences and the School of Theology, and is dis- Associate Professor of Classical Languages; Gayle race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual 931-598-1000, is the person responsible for tributed without charge to alumni, parents, faculty, McKeen, Associate Professor of Political Science; orientation, age, disability, veteran/reserve/ coordinating the University’s effort to comply with students, staff and friends of the University. Robert W. Pearigen, C’76, Vice President for national guard status, or religion (except in the these laws. © Copyright 2007, Sewanee. All rights reserved. University Relations. School of Theology’s Master of Divinity program, viceVICE CHANCELLOr’schancellor’s cORNER corner viewpoints Dear Sewanee Alumni and Friends, Just as work on this issue of Sewanee was nearing completion, we received the splendid news that three mem- bers of the College Class of 2007 – Syeda Hamadani, Joshua Harris, and Luke Padgett – have been awarded Thomas J. Watson Fellowships for 2007-08. They will be among the fifty graduating seniors from outstanding liberal arts colleges and universities across the country who will be given the opportunity to carry out a year of international travel and study on a subject about which they are deeply passionate. Many of you recall the cover article in last summer’s issue of Sewanee on the extraordinary experiences of several of Sewanee’s thirty-three previous Watson Fellows, and you will enjoy reading 1996-97 Watson Fellow Elizabeth Harris’s, C’96, letter on page six of this issue, in which she remembers warmly the role late Professor of Political Science Gilbert Gilchrist had in connecting her with the Watson program. We are grateful to the Thomas J. Watson Foundation and to Rosemary Macedo, the Watson Fellowship Program’s Executive Director and her colleagues, for making these opportunities possible and to Sewanee Associate Professor of Music Stephen Miller and the other members of the University’s Watson Fellowship committee for their great work in identifying and assisting Sewanee’s candidates. Here are brief summaries of Sewanee’s new Watson Fellows’ plans for 2007-08: n Syeda hamadani, a Chemistry and Spanish major from Nashville, Tennessee, will travel to Morocco, Spain, Peru, Venezuela, and Argentina to study the legacy of Muslim culture in the Spanish-speaking world. In her proposal she said “being an immigrant, a Muslim, and a student of Spanish, I seek to discover the beauty of the Muslim past and its current dynamics as they pertain to the Hispano-Muslim identity.” n Joshua harris, an English and Russian major from Batesville, Arkansas, will carry out a project on “Blades and Rails” in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia (Kaliningrad), Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. He summarized his aspirations: “As I engage my pas- sions for travel, Slavic culture, and hockey in distant lands, I will improve my language skills, my cultural sensitivity, and, no doubt, my game as well.” n Luke padgett, a Geology major from Apison, Tennessee, will visit Morocco, Germany, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, Madagascar, China, and Mongolia to study “Tales of Deep Time: Profit, Science, Perception and the Global Fossil Trade.” He wrote, “I hope to discover how the cultural, scientific, and economic value of fossils from around the world is influenced by the human perception of ancient life.” It is a joy to celebrate the selection of these Watson Fellows and to wish each of them all the best in these exciting explorations. The recognition of these three seniors also reflects the remarkable engagement of Sewanee students and faculty in passionate devotion to their scholarly interests. We are blessed to have reached the $150-million milestone in the Sewanee Call Capital Campaign and are deeply grateful for the generosity of donors such as Douglas Hawkins, C’5 , David Beecken, C’68, and Wm. Polk Carey, H’06, whose gifts will make a major difference in opportunities for Sewanee students through many generations to come. We are proud of Professor of French George Poe’s selection as Tennessee’s Professor of the Year for 2006; of Owen Professor of Economics’ Yasmeen Mohiuddin’s work with Nobel-Peace-Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, H’98; of the University of the South’s contributions to the rebuilding of Cuttington University in Liberia; and of much more that is reported in the pages that follow. I hope you will enjoy reading this fine issue, the last credited to outstanding editor Laura Barlament. As I write, it is spring break on the Mountain. The daffodils are in full bloom. The redbud is peeking out in Abbo’s Alley, and the dogwood buds are swelling. I hope you will come for a walk in the woods whenever you can. Hurrah for Syeda, Josh, and Luke, and for Sewanee. • SEWANEE MAGAZINE • Spring 2007 vice chancellor’s corner viewpointsVIEWPOINTS editor’s note t’s my last day as a University of the South employee, and I feel as if I have thousands of tiny, sticky strings attached to me, holding me here; as if I were walking through Abbo’s Alley in the fall and literally becoming entangled by the spider webs Iacross the path. This might be a feeling familiar to any Sewanee graduate nearing commencement. At any rate, Luke Padgett, C’07, who’s set to graduate in May, sympathized Wooden boats, still elegant under a mantle of snow, when I saw him this week at Sewanee’s Blue Chair Café. attract interest on the front lawn of the duPont I got to know Luke when I was organizing a program for the Friends of duPont Library. A Library while inside Robb White, writer, boat- writer, boat-builder, and naturalist named Robb White was coming to give a talk on “Old-Time builder and naturalist, delivers a Friends of the Naturalists.” One of my work-study students, Sandy Kern, C’07, lived in the Eco-House (a Library talk. Below: Luke Padgett’s poster. dorm for students who work together on environmental initiatives), and she suggested that Luke, a fellow Eco-House resident, might be interested in helping publicize the event. I contacted Luke through e-mail, and a few days later, he had designed a beautiful poster. He sent it to Print Services and even helped to post it around campus. All I did was pay for it. We had an overflow crowd that day in February 2006. It was a most unusual Friends of the Library event. Robb White had (sadly, he is now deceased) a huge following in the wooden boat community — a new concept to me — and several fellow boat- builders brought their elegant skiffs to be displayed in front of the library, where they were covered by a gentle snow that fell in the twilight. I finally met Luke at that event. I recognized him from a Sewanee theater produc- tion in which he had played the lead role as a freshman.